Ensuring the sustainability of affordable housing through generations is a major challenge. Community Land Trusts (CLTs) represent a possible way to ensure long-term access to affordable housing that is locally and democratically run, ensuring that land and property are kept in trust for the benefit of the community. This model allows for value capture to increase, while maintaining housing affordability. While there are many examples of CLTs in the U.S., there are only two examples in emerging market countries – one of which is in Tanzania.
The Tanzania-Bondeni settlement upgrading project provided residents of an informal settlement access and security of tenure to residents and provide assistance in creating a housing development scheme. In this project, the government acknowledged the informal settlement residents’ right to secure communal title to land, and additional NGOs and unions provided credit, along with organizational, financial, logistical, technical, and legal support. However, CLTs are very reliant upon willingness of the government to recognize land rights – and so this approach has not been expanded to other locations in Tanzania.
Source:
UN-Habitat. (2021) The role of land in achieving adequate and affordable housing. UN-Habitat.
Link: https://unhabitat.org/the-role-of-land-in-achieving-adequate-and-affordable-housing